Broadband customers to get £8-a-day automatic compensation for lost connection

CUSTOMERS of Britain’s top internet service providers will soon receive automatic compensation when their fixed broadband or landlines stop working.

In a new deal between Openreach and five major UK providers, customers will automatically receive £8 for each day their services are lost.

2

Customers will automatically be compensated for every day their internet services are downCredit: Getty - Contributor

The deal will only kick in when the fault takes more than two days to resolve, and applies to customers of BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Zen Internet.

It has also been suggested that EE and Plusnet will be joining the deal shortly.

The deal will cover both homes and small and medium-sized businesses using these internet service providers.

Other benefits of the agreement will see customers receiving £25 for engineers who either don’t arrive on time or cancel within 24 hours, with £5-per-day compensation for new services that fail to start on time.

The agreement with Openreach comes a year after Ofcom released details of its voluntary automatic compensation code of practice which set the payout rate.

2

Customers of BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and Zen Internet will all benefit under the new agreementCredit: AFP - Getty

At the time, Ofcom said it would allow a 15-month implementation period for the new system to come into effect.

With 12 months gone already, the system is set to fully be in place by Spring 2019.

As part of the deal, Openreach has also said it will pay out compensation even when the circumstances were out of its control.

These would include times a vehicle is parked in front of a wiring cabinet or engineers were unable to access a pole on private land.

Openreach has refused to pay compensation for "measures beyond reasonable control", such as flooding, but this responsibility could still fall on the internet service providers who have signed up to the deal.

Writing on website IS preview, journalist and IT consultant Mark Jackson said: “Openreach's steadfast position not to pay out during 'force majeure-type events' has caused some irritation, particularly while Ofcom continues to insist that retail ISPs will have to cover the cost of that themselves.”

MOST READ IN MONEY

STEP UP

Halifax launches new 100% mortgage with no deposit for first-time buyers

WINNER DINNER

Savvy dad saves £3,360 on kebabs and Chinese food by making ‘fakeaways’

SUPERMARKET WEEP

LESS OF A CHORE

APPY SHOPPER

B&M shopper spots amazing way to get everything from furniture to toys for 10p

Speaking to the BBC, Openreach said that it has offered compensation for broadband failures since 2008.

Their statement read: “We have fully supported Ofcom's voluntary code of practice since its inception, and are pleased to have reached an agreement with those communication providers intending to offer automatic compensation.”

A spokesman for the regulator said: “We're pleased this agreement has been reached, following our intervention to secure automatic compensation for customers facing problems such as delays and missed appointments.”

Broadband down- Thousands across UK left without internet or phone lines

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.

Comments are subject to our community guidelines, which can be viewed here.